Google: AMP content coming soon to organic mobile search results

It’s a big deal: Google will start showing indexed Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) content in mobile search results. The company has released a developer preview (g.co/ampdemo) and will roll out indexed AMP content in Google.com soon.

Previously only news content featured in the Top Stories carousel was AMP-enabled. Now any AMP page/content will appear in organic search results. Google emphasized, however, that (at least for now) there isn’t going to be a rankings boost given to AMP content.

In the past, Google has said that page speed/load time are potential ranking signals. AMP dramatically reduces load time, so one would have to assume that over time, AMP content will benefit, much in the way that mobile-friendly sites benefited from improved visibility after Mobilegeddon. This is only my speculation, however.

Google said that it has 150 million AMP documents in the Google index, with more than four million being added weekly. Though initially adopted by news publishers, Google pointed out that a wide range of non-news publishers have now embraced AMP, including eBay, Fandango, Reddit, Flipkart, TripAdvisor, Disney, Food Network and many others.

On average, AMP pages load in less than one second and consume 10X less data than conventional pages. Google also said that where identical AMP and mobile-friendly pages exist, it will favor/show the AMP content.

About The Author

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.